Atop the peak of one of the foothills of the southern range of the Rockies, on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, is a 20 foot concrete cross. The mile hike up the hill to this landmark was a staple for the student and adult leaders on the annual mission trips I lead to this Mexican border city. From this cross, the view of the Rio Grande Valley is incredible with both Juarez and El Paso sprawling across the historic pass.

Having made the hike a number of times, one year I stayed at our rental vans along with a couple other adults. The trailhead was in a squatter neighborhood, ramshackle huts of pallets and corrugated metal perched on the hillside. While not a necessarily dangerous neighborhood, we had been advised that unattended vehicles could be the targets of petty theft. In order to discourage any theft or vandalism a few of us waited with the vehicles while the rest of the group hiked to the lookout.

The three of us, all grown men, well past our athletic prime, took out a soccer ball and kicked it around as we waited. Within minutes children and teens began emerging from the shade of the surrounding homes. Before long we had a full fledged soccer game going on the gravel open space. After we played enough to work up a sweat we opened our cooler of FlaVor-Ice frozen treats. We passed them out by the handfuls and between our broken Spanish and the children’s limited English exchanged names, ages, and interests. When the hikers returned, we said our goodbyes, loaded into our vans, and headed back to base leaving the soccer ball.

This is the closest experience I think that I’ve had to that of Jesus and the disciples, with people streaming out to see them. I don’t necessarily think that the church is meant to mirror this specific aspect of Jesus’ ministry. I don’t think drawing crowds, for the sake of drawing crowds is central to the Gospel. But I think moments like this reveal something about Jesus and human existence. People flocked to Jesus because he possessed and shared a hope that people were desperate to experience. Sure, some of those in the crowd were only there because they wanted to see what the crowd was doing, and some where there because they were critical of what Jesus was doing. But, on the whole, people sought out Jesus because they hoped Jesus would positively affect their lives. The question for us as Jesus followers and as the church; do we possess and share a hope that people are desperate to experience?

One evening, when I was in 7th grade, two crazy ladies, Deb and Sherri (who later became two of my ministry role models), showed up at my church and invited the few high school and middle school students who attended our small church to go on a mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico. Deb and Sherri seemed fun, going to Mexico seemed fun, and for the most part, I liked meeting new people, so I signed up. After a few months of training sessions, prayer, and learning about a new culture we climbed on these massively old charter buses that the Covenant Church in Lincoln had purchased, and we made our way to Reynosa. After a few bus break downs, we finally made it. We set up camp in our partner churches yard. We built something (what it was escapes me), we had a VBS for the neighborhood children, we sang songs in Spanish, and taught about Jesus. It was a fabulous trip! Minus the fact that my dog passed away while I was gone, I wouldn’t have changed a moment about that trip… well, I might have changed the fact that we had to turn one of the buses into a moving sick bay…Montezuma got his revenge on our team as we traveled home!

In our scripture for Sunday, we find Jesus and his disciples preparing for their mission trip. A mission trip that would last their whole lives. Jesus sent them out with a mission: to trust that God would provide for them, to preach the Good News of Jesus, to bring healing and repentance and to recognize that when they’ve done all they can, leave the rest in God’s hands.

Did you know that God has this same mission in mind for us? Not just when we go to far off places, but when we walk out our front door. Every day of our lives we are to trust that God will provide for our needs. Every day of our lives we are to preach the Good News, and use words to do so. In doing so, we can, through Jesus’ strength, help others find healing. It really is what we signed up for, but it’s not easy, but God is with us every step of the way.

Through God’s grace, may we go forth and live out God mission for our lives.

One of the ancient tales we call “Aesop’s Fables” tells the story of a fox and a lion.

One day a fox happened upon a lion for the first time. He was terrified and ran and hid in the wood. The next day the fox stood at a distance and watched the lion pass by. The following day the fox strolled past the lion and inquired of his family. - Familiarity breeds contempt.

This fable plays on the idea that things which initially startle us or are awe inspiring become less impressive as they become part of our normal experience. That which was extraordinary becomes common.

In this week’s scripture the residents of Jesus’ hometown are thoroughly unimpressed with his ministry. They know his family, they know his roots, he isn’t a mystery, and they don’t have faith.

The story reads our experiences. How quickly we become unimpressed with work of God in our midst. The profound mystery of faith can become part of the unremarkable scenery of our lives.

There is a scene in the film “The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers” that features the British actor, Bernard Hill as a king of a declining kingdom. He is standing among the earthen tombs of a cemetery. He is holding a white wild flower that grows over the tombs. He is lingering in the cemetery following the funeral procession for his adult son, who was killed in battle. Turning to Ian McKellen, who portrays Gandalf - an ancient wizard, Hill delivers this line, “No parent should have to bury their child.” That line was improvised by Hill. It turns out, as he read the script and prepared for the scene he was reminded of the line, which had been spoken by a close relative upon the death of her child. He didn’t submit it for consideration in the script, he simply delivered the line during filming. The line resonated so deeply that director, Peter Jackson, kept it in the film.

The pain and loss that accompany the death of a child are unequaled. In this week’s Scripture, Jesus encountered a father and mother at the moment of their daughter’s death. In an act of profound mercy, Jesus intervened. Jesus revealed that in the face of God’s compassion, even death doesn’t have the final word.

For roughly two centuries American churches and denominations were prolific in starting schools and churches. This explosion of growth was a function of the westward expansion of the United States across the North American continent, resulting in the conversion of the American wilderness to agricultural,and industrial use, as well as metropolitan areas.

The Evangelical Covenant Church is no exception. A relatively small band of Swedish immigrants began a hospital and school on the far northern outskirts of Chicago. Today Swedish Covenant Hospital and North Park University exist because those immigrants believed their faith in Jesus had real consequence for the world around them.

In this week’s scripture reading a desperate woman seeks out Jesus. Jesus responds to her in three ways: he affirmed her faith, he freed her from her suffering, and he sent her into the world with peace.

Those churches and denominations that started hospitals and schools did so as an extension and expression of their faith in Jesus. They believed that Jesus commissioned them to Nurture Faith, Free the Suffering, and Inspire Peace those found them. They understood those hospitals and schools as an embodiment of that commission.

Today it isn’t logistically feasible for churches or denominations to start churches or schools from scratch they way they did 150 years ago. The times have changed, but that commission hasn’t. Jesus continues to call his people to Nurture Faith, Free the Suffering, and Inspire Peace those around us. The task before us is to create the most meaningful and significant means for Nurturing Faith, Freeing the Suffering, and Inspiring Peace in the world around us.

A deranged man, who had lived in small caves used as tombs, was the first to greet Jesus on the shores of the Gentile side of the lake. Jesus freed him from the demons that were the source of his madness, and he found peace. The local community was terrified of Jesus and begged him to leave, so Jesus left.

This is incredibly anti-climactic. Jesus had crossed the lake in the midst of a violent storm, risking the lives of his followers. Upon arriving among the Gentiles Jesus performed one of his most dramatic miracles. Jesus appears to be poised to make a profound impression on the region… But then he gets back in the boat and returns to the side of the lake he had just come from. If Jesus were anything like us, we’d expect him to push on in the face of those who asked him to leave. Wasn’t his mission more important than their objections?

How do we respond when we aren’t met with a warm welcome? How do we respond when those we intended to share the Kingdom of God with reject us and the Kingdom?

That one Saturday morning… There are no early children’s soccer games. No tee time to keep. No guests coming that require the house to be scrubbed and disinfected. No insurmountable to-do list to attack. There is nothing to keep you from sleeping in this one Saturday morning…

As predictable as the changing of the seasons, this is the Saturday the storm hits. Children are wide awake and jumping on your bed two hours before you would have to drag them from their beds during the week. A dog that hasn’t made mess in a year is vomiting in the corner. The children who were sent to pour themselves cereal for breakfast have somehow set off the smoke alarm. And that overly enthusiastic neighbor has decided his lawn needed to be mowed before the sun rises.

So much for sleeping in just this one time.

Is this the same feeling that Jesus experienced when his panicked disciples shook him awake in the stern of that boat in the midst of a storm?

It’s tempting to envision Jesus calming the storm and returning to his comfy cushion and quickly falling back asleep. That storm feels relatable. In that story Jesus is the hero of and vindication for every sleep deprived parent. And that’s fine, but there is something more going on here. This story isn’t just a story about that one time Jesus scolded the weather and it obeyed him like a petulant child. This story makes a claim about Jesus’ identity that is foundational to Mark’s version of the Jesus story, and it makes a claim about the nature of the Jesus movement in the world.

In the first commercial break following Beyonce’s halftime show of the 2013 Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, Dodge debuted a Commercial featuring the narration of Paul Harvey. The commercial honors the hard work and compassionate heart of farmers. No description will do the commercial justice, go ahead and watch it here.

Much like us, Jesus lived in the midst of an agrarian society. Jesus was not a farmer himself, he likely grew up learning his father’s trade, stone masonry. (I know we typically envision Joseph as a wood working carpenter. But that is a result of the Western European tradition that envisioned a construction carpenter as a wood worker, because during the middle ages Europeans primarily used wood in construction. In ancient Palestine, construction grade wood was rare and expensive. Most construction was done with brick and stone, thus Joseph was certainly a stone mason.) Even though Jesus wasn’t a farmer himself, as a result of cultural immersion, he would have been very familiar with farming. Like Paul Harvey, Jesus frequently celebrated and engaged farming metaphors when exploring larger themes about life, relationships, and God.

In Mark 4:26-34 we have two metaphors that don’t necessarily celebrate farmers, but rather celebrate the foundation of agriculture, seed. In these short parables, Jesus explores the theme that seeds contain the full potential to become a plant and produce a harvest. While farmers can nurture or hamper the revelation of that potential, it is relationship between the seed and the natural environment that results in growth and production.

This is the nature of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a seed that has been planted in our midst. Our efforts can nurture or hamper its growth and development, but the growth and production of the revelation of the Kingdom of God is the work of the God. It is not a result of our work. We do not advance the Kingdom of God, God does. We do not bring the Kingdom of God, God does. We do not build the Kingdom of God, God does. We are invited to participate, but we only meaningfully participate when we recognize our limits and rely on God’s limitlessness.

Every Wednesday, Zoe gets to bring show and tell to school. Every single Wed, for the past 8 month Zoe has packed up her treasured items, careful to make sure they stay hidden in her backpack, away from her classmate’s eyes, until the big moment when she reveals to her class the loved item she brought with her. How fun is that? These sweet little kindergartners show up to school with a huge secret that they are busting at the seams to share, but they know they can’t share it until the right moment. And when they finally get to share their secret, they get the oohs and ahh’s that they have been waiting for. What a great moment for these kids!

This week we will celebrate with four of our middle school students as they go through the rite of passage we call confirmation. Over the past three years these four students have been reading God’s word, memorizing Biblical building blocks and diligently taking sermon notes (well, at least I would like to think they were). We celebrate with them as they take their own step to confirm that a faith that is truly their own. Confirmation Sunday is truly a great day of celebrating!

My prayer for our confirmands comes from our scripture passage for this week. Mark 4:22 says “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and what is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” Pray with me, that this faith that these four students are claiming for their own, becomes something they always keep in the open. Pray with me that Madelyn, Evan, AJ and Allyssa always allows the light of Jesus Christ to shine brightly in their lives.

Teachings in parables is Jesus’ spiritual lesson which we can relate to with stories based on our real lives. In this famous parable, the parable of the sower, Jesus teaches us a valuable lesson using the agricultural life that was intimately familiar with people in that era. Within this lesson, there are seeds and there are 4 different ‘types’ of ground: rocky places, ground with shallow soil, ground among thorns, and good soil. The seeds are planted in these lands and Jesus describes what happens to the seed that fell on the ground(s). Jesus indicates seeds are the Word of God, the message about the Kingdom, and the Gospel. Each ground represents a ‘type’ of a person or stage when he/she has heard about the Gospel.

With this parable, Jesus asks us a question, “How do you react when you hear about the story of salvation?” “Would you accept my message fully that you would bear grains and fruits?” These 4 "types” of ground is within our very own lives. We will discuss this Sunday what these 4 “types” represent, and what it means to bear grains and fruits.